Lamontville Golden Arrows crashed out of the Nedbank Cup after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Royal AM at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
This victory meant Thwihli Thwahla have grabbed the bragging rights three times over Abafana Bes’thende as they had already defeated them twice in the DStv Premiership.
It was Abafana Bes’thende who had a bright start to the game, seeking to find an early opener at home. Moments later, Royal AM elevated their game trying to settle and started to make some deadly box entries.
In the 16th minute, Xolani Ngcobo was forced into a save after Devine Lunga unleashed a low thumping shot from the edge of the box. Both teams continued to be constructive and were quick when playing offensively.
NASCIMENTO PUT ROYAL AM IN FRONT FROM PENALTY SPOT
In the 29th minute, AM were awarded a penalty after Siyabonga Mbatha appeared to have fouled Shaune Mogaila in the box. The centre-back Ricardo Nascimento stepped up and rattled the back of the net, sending Arrows’ shot-stopper the wrong way.
While Arrows seemed desperate to level the scoreline, AM started playing more into the half of the hosts. The interval arrived with Thwihli Thwahla leading 1-0.
In the second stanza, Arrows had a lively start as there were seeking an equaliser in the critical phase of the game. However, Royal AM’s defence was solid enough to keep on denying them killer passes.
Later, Arrows made attack-minded changes, bringing on Nduduzo Sibiya and Ryan Moon as they took off Bongumusa Nkosi and Devine Lunga. They then kept on trying to fight back and missed a couple of chances.
In the 82nd minute, Knox Mutizwa received a square pass from Moon and the Zimbabwean tried to chip Ngcobo who was on hand to expertly deal with the attempt.
LATE EQUALISER FROM MUTIZWA
The last five minutes of the match saw Arrows dominating possession and throwing all they could to send the game to extra-time. Their resilience eventually awarded them a late leveller in the 95th minute from Mutizwa who forced the match to extra time when AM thought they had sealed the victory.
Vusimuzi Vilakazi’s troops started the first 15 minutes with guns blazing after they had built confidence from the goal.
In the 110th minute, Royal AM regained their lead as Levy Mashiane got behind the home side’s defence and rounded the goalkeeper to tap into an empty net. Two minutes before the end of the extra time, Mashiane completed his brace, exploiting Nkosingiphile Gumede’s error at the back.
The match eventually ended 3-1 in Royal AM’s favour.
Meanwhile, in the other match, Chippa United defeated Mpheni Home Defenders 2-0 with Ronald Pfumbidzai and Diego Appollis getting on the scoresheet.
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